This question was asked on the FAQ page and I'm posting it so those of you who have been there can respond. Anonymous asked what to do when you have a stomach bug. 
stomach bug (image source)
This week my family had the stomach bug that lasted for days. Myself included. I am now over two months with the hypnosis and have been doing great...up to this point. I tried just eating chicken broth and staying hydrated with water. I just found that I was not getting my energy back. The thought of eating protein made me nauseous. I finally broke down and started to eat some saltines and drank pedialite. I quickly got my energy back but sure enough that made those darn Army men come running out. 3 days off (and I would love to say I just ate saltines but I would be lying) and today I am back on and feeling better.

What is done is done and I hope I have not messed up my hypnosis too much. I live far away and do not want to have to travel (or pay!) for a refresher.

Has anyone else faced this? Is there a way to stay on the plan yet be able to get better?

Hunger has been my middle name for a few weeks now. No kidding. I'm feeding the "beast" with lots of meat. What's behind this hunger and how can I move beyond it? Change needs to happen. Yes, it's time to change things up again. Before I tell you about the changes I'm making, I'll talk about what's been happening.
Portrait of my food monster; image by Theresa

What's Happening


Before I first started this program, I didn't know the food plan was meat based and I didn't like red meat. I ate hamburgers from time to time at home, but I never ordered red meat at a restaurant. At my first session, Julie told me she couldn't help me like something I didn't like, so I asked about the few meats I did like: meatloaf, meatballs, cold cuts, and pepperoni. She cautioned me to watch my fat intake and indicated the meatloaf and meatballs were okay because the breadcrumbs are inside and not on top of the meat.

Over time, I have come to love red meat. I haven't felt this healthy and full of energy in years and I believe it's due to adding red meat to my diet. This past January I decided to focus more on red meats and less on poultry. A month later I started having a sweet taste in my mouth and this has been going on 24/7 ever since. Looking back now, I think my appetite increase began about the same time the sweet taste started.

I saw my doctor about the sweet taste in my mouth and I had blood tests done. No diabetes (or sign of pre-diabetes) and the rest of my numbers look great. I wondered if this could be a periodontal issue. I checked in with a friend who is dental hygienists and she suggested it may be Ketosis. (If you're interested - Wikipedia provides a good explanation on Ketosis, scroll past the medical jargon in the first few paragraphs to the sections about Diet, Diagnosis, and Controversy.)

Where to go from here? To my friends of course. I asked them for their words of wisdom on all of the above.

Words of Wisdom


My hygienists friend reminded me that Julie talks about this kind of hunger and that it's usually the body wanting something and until it gets that, hunger stays with you. I haven't figured out what it is my body is hungry for yet, but this week I'm focusing on changing up my recipes to see if I can find out what my body is craving.

I asked a few friends if they've experience this kind of hunger or if they've had this sweet taste happen to them. Here's what they said:
  • When my mouth tastes like metal, I stock up on breath strips. Trying mixing in some veggies you used to eat long ago. Julie says our bodies hit a "fat pocket" that has stored vitamins, minerals, etc. from something we ate a long time ago. Our bodies have already gotten rid of the newest fat pockets, now we are into the heavy artillery from years ago and our bodies want something from that.
  • I certainly know the feeling and talking about it seems to have helped me move this out of the subterranean levels of my mind into consciousness. Yesterday I ate more like a normal human being instead of a saber toothed tiger at a kill. What helps me is varying my foods and not getting too elaborate with my cooking. It seems my "imagining" what I could have, how I could make it delicious, is what tips my hunger center into over drive. So I'm experimenting with going back to simplicity - at least half the time. Roasting a turkey breast, plain broccoli, etc., seems to remind my body of the nutrition it needs, and stops all the "imagining." Eventually I get bored and spice it up a bit.
  • I believe in the KISS theory (Keep It Simple Silly). Maybe it's because I'm not into messing up my kitchen!! I'm not one for sauces, dips, or cheesy things; just throw it on the grill & I'm good! Another thing I avoid is salad; too much veggies, and fat, but I love my corn, squash & carrots.

What's Next?


Good question, grasshopper!

I'm making some changes in my menu plan. I've been eating the same meats over and over. Meatloaf and meatballs are allowed on this program, but I'm eating them too often. When we eat the same foods over and over, our mind thinks we're on a diet. We're retraining our mind and giving our minds the impression that we're on a diet breaks the reprogramming we've been working on; this is not good.

I started collecting new recipes, which I'll post as I make them. I'm looking in the fresh veggie department for veggies I haven't had it a while, which is a wide range of items. Yes, a little bit of corn is supposed to be added to our foods daily, according to the plan when I started, but it shouldn't be the only veggie I'm eating. Yes, coleslaw is allowed, but not on a daily basis. I'm adding fish back into my menu. I don't know when I last had fish! I cooked shrimp for lunch on Saturday and had scallops for dinner. It's been eons since I had ribs too.

My plan for this week is to plan my meals the day before, to shop more often and in smaller amounts, and to avoid having the same meal more than once (as Julie teaches us). This means either freezing some of the meals I cook or cutting back on the amount I make. Either way, I win.

I don't know if these changes will get rid of the sweet taste in my mouth, but what I do know all of these are key concepts that I lost sight of along the way. I have more weight to lose and putting these principals back into action will help me continue on my journey to reach my goal size.

Cheating on this program is not just about eating foods that are not on program, it's also about not following the program rules. Either way, cheating slows down our weigh loss.

What can you change in your meal plan to encourage weight loss? Are you eating the same foods again and again? Is it time to switch things around? Jump in and make some changes in your menus!

Are you following the same exercise routine week after week? It's spring and it's time to get more energy into your life by switching up your routine (or starting one). Get outdoors and take a break at work for five minutes. Go to work earlier, drop your stuff in your office (or leave it in your car) and then go back outside and walk for ten minutes or a half hour. Park your car far from the office so you have a nice long walk at the start and end of your day!

Make a change today. Make another change tomorrow. Change your life forever.

I found enlightenment at the grocery store last night...
photo source: The Lost Girls
My plan last night was to buy ingredients to make two new recipes: Crock-Pot Shredded Beef Tacos and Grilled Chicken Skewers. I had my list of ingredients for both recipes in Evernote, a great app that stores all the notes I used to write on tiny pieces of paper and then could never find later when I needed them; I can access Evernote from any computer, my iPad, and my iPhone. I love Evernote!

By the time I stepped into the grocery store it was some time past 6 pm and I immediately realized didn't have enough steam to buy the ingredients or to cook up a storm. I decided I would shop like a European and just buy the items for dinner.  Plus, I'm going out to dinner tonight (Outback - which I love, love, love, now that I'm a meat eater) so it didn't make sense to buy so much food. Those recipes will wait a few more days, perhaps Friday night or over the weekend. I'll post recipes and photos after I make them.

Meanwhile, back to my shopping experience. I looked at my shopping list and decided all the items could wait a few more days and closed my iPhone. Okay, so what's for dinner? Walking along the hot section of  BigY. Fried chicken? No thank you? Baked chicken? No, I've been cooking real chicken for so long now these store bought pre-cooked chickens no longer taste good to me and I end up tossing most of the chicken. I used to eat them weekly. No other hot foods were available, so I continued down the isle to where they had all kinds of chicken wings, ready to be heated up. Yes, chicken wings will do just fine!

Next, I went into the veggie isle and I grabbed a small package of snap peas. It's been ages since I've had them. I headed over to the other side of the store, picked up a few more items, and then proceeded to the checkout.

When I arrived at the checkout area and there were three checkout options. Option one: two guys with an overfilled large grocery cart who were just beginning to put items on the conveyor belt, as someone ahead of them finished emptying their cart. Option two: eight people with small carts full of items. Option three: too far away for me to debate fast enough before someone with a large cart full of groceries stepped into that line. I went with option one.

As I waited for them to finish unloading their cart, I tried to keep busy looking at magazines, but the magazines were boring.

Sigh.

At some point, I felt as if I had entered the Twilight zone, as it seemed like their cart would never empty. It was then that I started to look at what they were buying: junk food, all junk food. I won't name names (labels), but suffice it to say there was nothing there that's on my program. Most items were large colorful bags full of crispy things and air or from the bakery. I could only imagine they are either going to or having a party, but my goodness, what a lot of crap!

The closest thing to protein was hot dogs, I saw buns and then searched to see what they were going to put in them. Oh, they had yogurt too. The kind that has a separate container on top with pebbles of toppings. Nothing in their cart was anything I used to eat, I was more of a Ben & Jerry's kind of girl.

I waited in anticipation to see their total, Meanwhile, there was finally room for me to put my items on the belt: chicken wings, 1 yogurt, 1 stick of pepperoni, 1 package of cottage cheese, and snap peas.

Cha-ching! Their total was just over $300 of junk food!

No wonder Americans have an obesity problem! Both of these guys were skinny, but I wondered what the people at the party looked like.

This morning, as I write this, I think about what my grocery cart used to look like and what others in line may have been thinking about what I was buying, which was sugar, sugar, sugar. I would switch up the place I bought dinner, so "they" wouldn't see me night after night buying Ben & Jerry's. I didn't buy $300 worth of junk food at one pop, but I certainly spent more than that in a month, little by little, one quart at a time. Well, unless it was on sale.

The chicken wings, by the way, were horrible. I should have ordered them at Pizza Palace of Granby, where they make incredible Buffalo wings for less money than the horrible wings I bought from BigY. Good thing I had that pepperoni and cottage cheese to fill the void, as most of the chicken was nasty.

Enlightenment can happen anywhere, even in line at the grocery store. My moment of enlightenment was a reminder of yet another area of my life that has changed. Ben & Jerry's used to be what's for dinner, night after night (hey, I switched up the flavor - most nights).  Today, sugar is no longer my main course, my middle name, or my first name. Sugar no longer calls me by name. I'm no longer an obese woman who spends money on junk food.

What about you? What's different in your life today than when you began this weight loss journey?


Here's an interesting video, both visually and it's content, about self-worth. Teal Scott is an amazing young woman. I looked at her of long-term goals (see below) and I wonder: what could I manifest if I invest my energies more wisely?
Teal's long-term goals: 
  • Providing an alternative to the current jail system
  • Owning integrative medicine facilities, where a patient’s disease is approached from multiple modalities of thought at the same time
  • Setting up affordable, enjoyable "end of life centers" that assist the elderly with their peaceful, supported, holistic, non resistant transition into death
  • Creating an alternative system to “pounds” for animal rescue and rehabilitation
  • Providing an alternative to the current education system, which will be available to people from all income brackets
  • Funding workshop tours that are evolutionary in their approach to alternative parenting methods, especially in low income areas where people would otherwise have no access to learning new ways of parenting
  • Introducing programs and possibly facilities which provide affordable, healthy food to schools, jails, food banks and welfare programs
  • Influencing a change in global consciousness
I tried the cauliflower pizza finally AND did not tell my hubby that crust is cauliflower....he loved it! He hates cauliflower.Too much cheese in recipe so i will adapt it next time. I used Canadian bacon, sauteed onions and mushrooms, raw slices green pepper and tomato and shredded basil. The crust looks and feels like bread-pizza crust.Next i will try steamed mussels which i have never made but need change from meat.
Nothing is happening. No weight loss. No weight gain. Plateau. I decided I'm thinking too much, so I went online looking for inspiration; found some...
source: Motive Weight
source: Pinterest
source: Sayings and Quotes
source: Dawnely Dawn

Continuing the conversations about the key concepts of Compromise and Sacrifice, these are personal stories, from my survey, about the key concept example.
image source: Each One Teach Won
(Each paragraph is a response from a different person in response to my survey.)

I made one year on maintenance; I hope this is an appropriate example for people who continue to be on this journey to the best of their ability, and that I am a positive example for following correctly.

I remember Julie talking about setting an example for oneself--for one's body. Sort of like showing it what you want it to do, exemplifying a new pattern, that it can follow. I recall being struck by how it was for ourselves. I thought of it in terms of neuroplasticity…. the habits we have fallen into have actual neuronal pathways…sort of like wearing a groove into the road during mud season. When you refuse to go into those ruts any more, and begin to carve a new pathway, new neuronal networks are created, and each time you use them they are strengthened. And as time goes on, the old pathways, ruts, can actually atrophy. So I think of setting an example is sort of like a signpost in the brain saying "This way to sanity and health"--or-- "Detour-old road unsafe - not to be used anymore," that we have to show our bodies how they can function more effectively and healthily.

By staying true to the key program, proving it works, is the greatest example and I live it daily. Being successful is a gift I can give to others. For a few days now lots of off-program foods have been on my mind, making me crazy! I even believe I've gotten bigger just because I'm thinking of them. So I'm looking within for the cause and I know it's because I get anxious when go away. I'm going away for a month and my old tapes are playing "eat for comfort." It's like having food dreams while I'm awake. Thanks to this program I won't indulge, I will do what we do for little kids: divert my attention; maybe take a cue from Jennifer and clean something!!

I remember Julie speaking briefly about example. She suggested experimenting with leaving some primo bite on the plate. At this point, I'm taking baby steps. I'm noticing, but not trying to control my appetite, or limit when and how much I eat-as long as it is healthy. That seems about as much as I can tackle for now. When I am more stable with that and I feel more confident, perhaps once I reach goal, I will take on more. Anyway, the grasshopper is very glad to have something to offer to the master.

As for example, I am looking forward to being that person who is a living testament that a healthy lifestyle is attainable.

To steal a quote from the "12 step" programs "It works if you work it." The key program works, but you need to "work it" the way it was designed. Then we can be an example of hope for those who are still hopeless. We can't pass on the gift of Julie unless we are true success stories!

When I was in Julie's third class, she said it was more than just waiting for results and calling that an example...

The example -- this is the hard one -- but I agree with Eva in how she looks at it EVERY DAY. I've practiced this lifestyle over the past 4 months (today is my anniversary day), I am setting a new example... creating new pathways for me to follow even when I'm out of the river someday. I'm getting good at not eating until I'm hungry. I am ALSO, trying to practice that even though we are ALLOWED something, it doesn't mean I HAVE to have it all the time. I now only have cheese every other day and in much less quantities. When I'm hungry before bed, I no longer eat a whole container of pepperoni. Instead, before I open the bag, I decide how many pieces I'm going to allow myself; 5 usually works. This may not sound like much of a sacrifice or compromise, but at night I used to binge eat; for me--this is example, compromise and sacrifice!! Another compromise is that even though sour cream comes with fajitas, I substitute blue cheese dressing; I'm glad I never liked guacamole. Another example I started: even though they give me tons of cheese and dressing for my steak fajita, I don't HAVE to have some with my steak EVERY bite. It feels good to send the empty steak plate back with most of the cheese and dressing! I'm trying to work up to sending my plate back with one GOOD "primo" bite left on it -- I have a hang up about feeling like I get my money's worth, when I go to dinner and think that's why I don't like leaving protein behind.

I went to a refresher today and she explained each concept:
  • free will: do not weigh yourself on a scale
  • compromise: meat and vegetables only
  • sacrifice: never let anything sweet touch your lips
  • example: the examples she used are: eat only when you are hungry and do not eat the salad before your meal
There you have it: real life examples of how people following this program are applying the key concepts of: compromise, sacrifice, example, and - I almost forgot: free will! Where would we be without the free-will component?
What's your experience with these key concepts?

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Continuing the conversation about key concepts, from my post about Compromise, here are responses from my survey about what the concept of sacrifice means. These personal stories exemplify the power behind sacrifice.
image source: Evil Mad Scientist
I was whining to myself about how others can "cheat" and seem to be doing fine: Why am I sacrificing all of that good yummy evil food, while others are enjoying it? (Well, I don't know if they are enjoying it) All of this effort when others seem to be able to have stuff off-program, but are able to do "3 hard days" and be fine! But, I am an addict. And I will sacrifice temptation.

For Julie to say up front that this was going to take SACRIFICE, that it was normal to feel cravings, and that we are going to suffer, was such an incredible relief. The biggest thing I have finally learned, not just intellectually--but in my gut, is that I can feel deprived and survive it, that I can sacrifice and be just fine. It just depends on what you want and need most. There is nothing wrong with a little suffering. I sometimes think of Olympic athletes and what they go through to get where they are. They give up a lot! I'm in training too. In training for a much better life for myself and those I love. And for that I have to give some things up. I happen to be addicted to them but they are really, really trivial.

The "sacrifice" concept has probably been the most powerful for me, and has extended to other areas of my life. In the past I always felt that someday the addictive hold of food would leave me and THEN I would be able to eat properly. All of the ads, the whole American lie that you could "eat everything you want and lose loads of weight", that you could do this and "never feel deprived" just made me feel that there was something deeply flawed about me, because I couldn't eat everything I wanted without becoming a blimp and getting sick and because going against my addictions does indeed make me feel deprived.

I've been sacrificing for 3 weeks now! Yesterday was my last 'Birthday' luncheon. I had a naked bacon cheeseburger with a side of coleslaw, water, and coffee. Friday night I celebrated with friends and had Chinese takeout and a vodka with club soda. The pay off? The weight is coming off. People have started to comment about it and I feel it. Just this morning I tried on a skirt with tags attached, which I probably bought a year ago and was unable to wear because it was too tight. Guess what? I am wearing it tomorrow. I just have to remember to cut off those tags! Oh yeah! I'm pretty darn happy!!!!

For me, sacrifice leads to compromise. I was on a vacation in CO in January and we were vacationing with friends who love to eat, and I mean EAT! Appetizers, breads, salads, entrees, desserts, after dinner drinks. In the past I ate right along with them, hence my before picture. Drinking would begin at our lunch break in the lodge and continue through the night. This time, I drank seltzer water or unsweetened iced tea during our lunch breaks. At dinner, there was no pre-meal eating. I made sacrifices to not eat along with everyone else and instead stayed on program. I watched everyone else eat the warm buttery bread. When dinner came, I savored each bite of my meal and I knew in the end I was not going to feel deprived. Nor stuffed or ashamed. For dessert I treated myself with a nice hot latte with whole milk. Never once did I feel deprived. I actually enjoyed watching others eat their desserts. For me, I see their enjoyment and I'm not gaining any weight from it. I think my success on this program is my example to others, that even on vacation--this is a lifestyle that's fits anywhere.

We all know the sacrifice we have to make to reach our goal of shedding the excess weight and getting healthy. We need to change the way we eat, plain and simple.

The funny thing is that I totally forgot to point out what my ‘sacrifice’ was during all these different celebrations. In short: I stuck with the plan the whole time. I did not have a sip of the fruity daiquiris my girlfriends so enjoyed, nor did I participated in eating the General Tso’s Chicken or those creamy desserts. Well, if you want to call that sacrifice... I didn’t suffer, believe me. I had a great time and I ate until I was full, which is a big part of this plan I really enjoy.

Never let anything sweet touch your lips.

These stories are inspirational examples that resonate with me, which is why I'm posting them to my blog, so I can come back to read them again.

How about you? What sacrifices do you make for yourself to support staying on program or maintenance?

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